Caged
by Anges Radieux
Summary: Erik and Christine are kidnaped by Javert and put on display. Erik must fight his inner demons and protect Christine from the cruelty of Humanity. Can Nadir and Raoul save them before they are taken out of Europe? EC, Kay-ish. ON HIATUS
1. Missing

**Beta - Shadows of Sephiroth**

Nadir

I stood out side of the opera house stamping my feet in a vain attempt to stay warm. Winter's icy finger tips had caught around Paris, so the days were getting colder and darker.

The Viscount was late. I had come to meet him there per his request. If he wasn't so insistent that we go to the House on the Lake again to look for clues, I would have gone home to my nice warm flat.

It had been 3 months with no sine of Christine or Erik. One month after there wedding Christine stopped showing up for rehearsals at the opera. At the time I thought Erik just wanted to have the girl to himself for a little while. After a month without seeing or hearing from them I grew concerned. It was unlike Erik to let the opera house go so long without Christine's voice gracing the stage.

Against my better judgment, I ventured down to the lake. On the way I made shore to trip as many alarms as possible, so as to announce my presents. When I got to the lake, I sat down on the dock to wait for Erik, my grumpy welcoming committee. After half an hour he did not appear. I saw that the boat was on my side of the lake from what I could tell it had not been used in some time.

This was to strange, so I stepped into the boat and rowed myself over to the other side. I reached the opposite shore without encountering the Siren. This only served to deepen my concern. It is so unlike my Erik to let anyone - even me - get this close to his house.

It took me half of an hour to find the door of Erik's house. When I did find it I walked in with my hand up to prevent from being strangled. The noose never came. Looking around the room I could not believe what I saw. Every thing inside was cover in a thick coat of dust. No one had been in the house for a long time. Most confounding of all was that if it wasn't for the dirt I would think I had just missed them. Their cloaks were gone but two half empty cups of tea sat on the table. I searched the dwelling and found both closets full. It was finding all of Erik's music still on his organ convinced me that they left with the full intention of coming back.

I immediately sent a letter to Raoul de Chagny, hoping he had heard from Christine. It was a long shot but I had to try. I was invited to his city home the next day. He received me in the study of the largest town house I had ever seen. I told him of my concerns about the whereabouts of his former fiancée. I never knew on what terms the two parted on, but if I wanted to find Erik and Christine soon I would need his money and power.

He demanded I let him help me find them. Telling me that even though Christine broke there engagement, she was still a dear friend. So we began the search.

In two months we turned up nothing. All hope seemed lost.


	2. A walk to the gates of Hell

3 months ago...

Erik.

I had been married for a month and it was the most prefect month of my life up to that point. Christine was mine and mine alone. She was, and still is, the most wonderful wife a man could ask for. She was kind, attentive, gentle and paeshent with me. I do not know how or why but she seemed to genuinely want to be around me.

We spent almost every evening after her rehearsals together. Some times she would sit with me on the sofa and rest her head on my shoulder while we read. Other times I would read to her until she was asleep. It never failed to amaze me that she felt safe enough with me to fall asleep in my arms. That all paled in comparison, for every night before she retired to her room, we did not share one, she'd stand on her toes and kiss my forehead before saying, "Good night my dearest one."

We lived in this blissful routine for a short time. Sadly our happiness was short lived.

The night **it** happened was just like the last five in a row. After dinner Christine and I would go on a walk to the small park a short distance from the Opera. At first I was hesitant to leave the Opera, but I can deny Christine nothing. I soon found that on those walks I felt any other man on a stroll with his wife.

Like many a night before, we were sitting in the dining room drinking tea after our meal. I was chomping at the bit waiting for Christine to ask to go on our walk. This may sound odd to some of you, but my pried would not let me ask to do what I had fought to avoid.

Christine stood up from her chair, walked up to me and knelt down on the floor next to my chair. She set her hands over of mine on the arm rest of my chair.

"Erik. " She said looking up at me with her prefect blue eyes.

I set my free hand on her head, and threaded my fingers through her hair. She melted into my touch. I took a moment to savor the feel of her hair as well as the privilege of such contact.

"Yes, my love"

She leaned in to my touch and asked "May we go to the park for a walk? Please?" She gave me a hopeful smile as I stroked her soft yellow curls.

"If you wish it, Angel" I said and her face lit up. She stood up and grabbed my hands then started to gently pull me to the door. I could not contain a smile at her egresses.

I grabbed my mask off my desk as she drew me through the study. Before we married, she made it clear that I could not where my mask when we were alone. She even threatened not to sing if I wore my mask. Needless to say I complied with her demand.

At the door I took her cloak off the peg and set it on her shoulders. I then began to don my own cloak. Before I could clasp the heavy woolen garment, Christine's hands pushed mine out of the way. I was about to protest when I felt her fingertips on the back of my neck. She straitened my shirt collar; after she finished with my collar she tightened my cravat and smoothed my lapels. She gave me one more look over before clasping on my cloak.

'There much better." She said with a smile before taking my hand and pulling me out the door.

The park was beautiful that night. The moon was reflecting off the small pond and illuminating the trees that grew at its banks. We walked hand in hand, down a secluded path next to the water.

"La Triaviata. I know it's sad, but I love it so."

"Christine, you cry whenever you sing the finale. I admit that it makes your performance very convincing, but I hate to see you so upset. "She squeezed my hand and smiled at me.

"You are such a thoughtful husband for worrying about me." she cooed.

We lapsed into companionable silence, wile I savored her complement. Even in the minimal light from the moon, I could see she was getting tired. So I lead her to the bench where we sat down and watched the water.

After a few moments of just sitting next to me and holding my hand, she slid into my lap and wrapped her arms around my waist. I quickly returned the embrace enjoying every moment.

"Erik, I'm cold. " She said with a shiver.

It was not very cold out and there was no breeze_._ I was about to question her when I felt a blinding pain in the back of my head and then all was darkness.


	3. Limbo

Erik,

It was not the first time I had been knocked unconscious, and it will probably not be the last. Thought I must say, this time I was left with the worst head ache I have ever experienced. I kept my eyes closed, for my mind was still reeling. I had a million questions and no answers. What happened? What hit me? And....

"CHRISTINE!!" I yelled.

I opened my eye and sat up despite the protests or my body. Christine was nowhere to be found. The only thing I saw were iron bars in every direction. I was in a cage. My mind took an eternity to proses this new development.

The icy grip of terror caught my intellect. Like when I was a child, the cage made all of my powers of reason disappear. I was a fly caught in the spiders web. My hands groped at my face, but they found nothing. I had no mask. No shield. If not for the mind numbing fear, I could have picked the lock of that first cage and my story would no longer be necessary.

If not for my mind numbing fear of being trapped, I could have picked the lock of that first cage and my story would no longer be necessary. Sadly I could not get all of the old fear from my childhood under control.

It was not long before my captor came to gloat. I was not as surprised as one would think when the a flap of the tent, that housed my cage, opened, and Javert walked in. He looked much like I remembered him. His hair had some grey in it other than that he looked the same.

"So it seems my little Don Juan has groan-up." he sad in a mocking tone. "You even have a little wife."

The mention of Christine ripped my mind from it's fear induced haze.

"Where is she." I growled.

"Right here." he then yelled "Bring her in!"

Three gypsies entered the tent dragging Christine with them. Before that night, I had never considered Christine's small hight to be a bad thing. I had always liked having a wife that was considerately smaller than me because then she would need my help in order to reach things on high shelves and other little things like that. Seeing those men drag her around like a tiny rag-doll made my blood boil with rage.

She looked the same as I had left her ; only two things where different. The cloak I had put on her was gone, and the other was a slim black blind fold covering her eyes. The absence of her cloak worried me. Christine becomes cold easily, and by then her teeth where chattering.

One of the gypsies opened the cage, and I took one step toward Christine. In an instant guns were drawn.

"Don't be stupid, monster." Javert sneered, reminding me I had to keep Christine's safety in mind before I did something I could not take back. With that in mind, I retreated a step. I glared fearsomely at the man that had my wife. The gypsy became so nervous under my constant scrutiny, he shoved Christine into the cage and slammed the door shut as fast as he could.

Christine stumbled but caught herself. She put her hands out so as not to run into any thing. When she did, her fingers brushed my shirt and she stopped.

"Who-who's there?" she said in a frightened studded "Erik?"

"Yes, my angel"

I reached for Christine's blindfold, but Javert stopped me. "Don't touch that blindfold!"

My hands slid down her hair using the feel of it to calm myself. By now my hands were shaking with suppressed rage. Christine must have sensed my anger, because she clasped her arms around my waist. I never knew if she was trying to comfort me or contain me.

I hated the lack of options. If we tried to run, one or, most likely, both of us would be shot. If I tried to fight, out numbered, out gunned, and trapped in a cage, we would be shot.

"Pick up the girl Monster, we have to get on the road"

Christine whorled around and faced in direction she had herd Javerts voice. I knew what she would say if I did not stop her. Christine hated the word 'Monster', she was always quick to my defence. Sometimes even defending me ageist myself. Her reproofs could be blistering and Javert would not sit quietly wile she scolded him.

Before she could say a word, I spun her back around to face me. I put her arms around my neck. She opened her mouth to protest,but I cut her off.

"Christine, hold on tight to me."

"But, Erik-" she tried again to protest.

I used my authoritative 'Angel of Music' voice. "Christine." Her name was all it took and she would not deify me. Thou she may fount my authority as Erik, she would not disobey her Maestro. She let Javert's comment go. I slid one arm behind her back, the other under her knees and picked her up.

We were escorted at gunpoint by Javert and his thugs to a covered wagon. Inside was our pertinent cage. The design was quite brilliant, if I had not been its prisoner at the time, I mite have admired the ingenuity behind it. It was reminiscent of a trapper's cage where one wall can be raised up to make a door. The trick with this one was the locks location. Instead of being where the door and the floor meet it was, by way of chains, next to the axle of the cart.

Once we were in the cage large canvass flaps were unrolled and we were plunged into darkness.


End file.
